"See every audition as an opportunity to build a relationship"

Hometown
I’m from Leeds, but over the years I have lived in Manchester, London and most recently, Los Angeles. I’ve just come back to Leeds and am settling here for the time being.

What do you do?
It really depends what day of the week you ask me that question! I am an actress with my own international theatre company Offshore LA.

I also teach drama, theatre studies and English in secondary schools. And I have been delivering workshops to a variety of client groups since I was still an undergraduate at the University of Manchester.

Since returning to the UK in May 2009, I have established my own business – Make Drama Work – as a development of my freelance work. I will continue to offer workshops within education, prisons, community groups and large businesses for training purposes, skill-building, self awareness and rehabilitation.

What was your very first role in theatre?
I began running workshops at summer schools and directing for camps and theatre schools when I was just 15. I found my love for the stage at just three! The first character I ever played was a meadow sprite in an excerpt from Sam Spoons’ Magic Tunes. The moment I heard the applause, I was hooked.

What else have you done in theatre?
I’ve worked on a lot of projects with TiPP in Manchester, which is what gave me the confidence to set up my own business.

I ran a drama programme at a summer camp in upstate New York, putting on three huge musicals in just nine weeks. I have taught drama and English at secondary school level, running extra curricular clubs as well as directing productions.

I also worked for a year as PR assistant and fundraising manager at Hampstead’s New End Theatre, where I piloted a scheme for young creative professionals and jointly co-ordinated a two-day arts festival in and around the theatre.

I lived in Los Angeles for nine months where I co-founded my theatre company Offshore LA and co-produced, co-directed and acted in our launch show, Got Fish? in a San Fernando Valley art gallery.

Have you got qualifications?
A drama degree, a PGCE (school teacher qualification) in secondary drama plus LAMDA acting certificates up to gold medal level

How did you start working in theatre?
It’s all about being brave enough to make the leap from 9-5 security and comfort of a regular paycheck (however small!). It also has to do with using contacts.

I got my job at the New End, for example, because I happened to be speaking to the artistic director at just the right moment. We both seized an opportunity.

Going to LA involved a big move, both geographically and emotionally. I left all my family and friends behind and moved abroad by myself, in pursuit of my acting dreams. I left the security of teaching and working in the production office of a theatre, because I knew it was worth it.

That is where the bravery comes in. You have to be bold enough to know that the risk attached is what makes the move worthwhile. I firmly believe that if you are lucky enough to have a passion, you owe it to yourself to at least try to make the dream a reality.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Always an actress! Ever since I was three.

What do you do all day?
Being self-employed means I have to manage my time very strictly. It also means there is no such thing as a typical day.

I have to devote some time to acting, whether that’s meetings with my agent, attending workshops to practice my craft and keep on top of my game, auditions, low-budget or no-budget shoots, promoting my company, finding plays to put on…whatever the specific tasks, I need to know I am working at being an actress.

On the business side of things, I go to networking meetings to generate new work and I have been doing a lot of marketing and planning strategies lately as the company is still in the early stages of development.

And of course I am constantly devising new workshop packages which keeps my brain ticking.

What’s the best thing about your job?
Which one? To be honest, the variety is what keeps me excited – no two days will ever be the same. But the real best thing? When I’m performing…when I’m actually being paid to do what I was born to do!

And the worst?
Probably the lack of stability. That’s what makes it frightening and at the same time exciting. And the rejection. But anyone who wants to act has to develop a thick skin and get used to the knocks.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
Any actor’s dream job is one where they are making their living from acting. But that’s not so easy to do, which is why I have my workshop business too – that keeps the roof over my head.

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Follow your heart wherever it takes you! Be brave enough to go after your dreams. Know that to be passionate about something is a blessing, so make the most of it. Be prepared to work as a volunteer to begin with so you can build up a contact base. A lot of the time, it’s not what you know, it’s who!

But the best piece of advice I was ever given came from a casting director in Los Angeles. She said every audition is not an opportunity to get a part, it’s an opportunity to build a relationship. If you can hang onto that and make it your mantra, it’s a lot easier to keep the whole audition process in perspective and learn to take the knocks with a pinch of salt.